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PES meets ECB president to urge sustainable and fair economic policy

12/03/2018

PES president Sergei Stanishev met today with Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, to lay out the PES's priorities for economic convergence, quality jobs and wages, and the need for strong investment across Europe.

During the meeting, Mr Stanishev thanked Mr Draghi for the role of the ECB in restoring economic stability to the south of Europe after the financial crisis.

But he also added:

"We know that monetary policy alone is not enough to bring a sustainable improvement in living standards and growth.

"Economic recovery must be sustainable and fair, boosting quality jobs and fair wages, including a decent minimum wage. There is also an urgent need for targeted investment to address convergence between member states, as well as a strong EU and eurozone budget.

"We must recognise the connection between economic growth and stability and tackling inequality. It is increasingly clear that the distribution of income and wealth within the economy is crucial to its overall health."

Today's meeting was the second in a series of high-level meetings on financial governance and reform, following Mr Stanishev's meeting with Mário Centeno last month.